WHAT WE DO

Delivery Strategies & Procurement Planning

Many projects fail to deliver on Owners’ expectations due to a failure to align all parties to the construction process on a common understanding of what constitutes a successful project outcome. Without such alignment the parties will naturally seek to maximise value for their own stakeholders, which can result in a zero sum game where there can only be one winner. This situation is often exacerbated by the use of contractual structures that inhibit collaboration and promote adversarial behaviours.

LCA can help Owners avoid Zero Sum games by helping owners define value and chose contract structures and project partners that will ensure that this value is realised.

It is important that the choosing of project partners and signing of contracts is not the end of any value realisation strategy. To ensure a successful project outcome it is advisable not to simply ‘set and forget’. Just like a marriage, the relationship between project stakeholders needs constant work to ensure best for project outcomes when, as is inevitable, issues arise.

WHAT WE DO

Delivery Strategies & Procurement Planning

Many projects fail to deliver on Owners’ expectations due to a failure to align all parties to the construction process on a common understanding of what constitutes a successful project outcome. Without such alignment the parties will naturally seek to maximise value for their own stakeholders, which can result in a zero sum game where there can only be one winner. This situation is often exacerbated by the use of contractual structures that inhibit collaboration and promote adversarial behaviours.

LCA can help Owners avoid Zero Sum games by helping owners define value and chose contract structures and project partners that will ensure that this value is realised.

It is important that the choosing of project partners and signing of contracts is not the end of any value realisation strategy. To ensure a successful project outcome it is advisable not to simply ‘set and forget’. Just like a marriage, the relationship between project stakeholders needs constant work to ensure best for project outcomes when, as is inevitable, issues arise.

Collaborative Contracting

One of the central tenants of lean construction is that a focus on optimising a part of a process rather than the whole process results in sub optimal overall outcomes.

Most traditional forms of contract fail to align the parties on a shared vision of success. This naturally results in situation where Contractor and Client seek to optimise outcomes for themselves to the detriment of the project as a whole.

Collaborative forms of contract, as the name suggests, are contracts that have been specifically designed to promote increased collaboration based on a shared vision of success. Integrated Project Delivery is the latest form of collaborative contract that is increasingly being adopted by government departments and major client organisations in Australia and across the World as it facilitates the use of BIM, incentivises all parties to maximise project value and allows for greater engagement with the wider supply chain.

LCA can assist with contract selection, negotiation and alignment of all parties on shared vision of success.

Collaborative Contracting

One of the central tenants of lean construction is that a focus on optimising a part of a process rather than the whole process results in sub optimal overall outcomes.

Most traditional forms of contract fail to align the parties on a shared vision of success. This naturally results in situation where Contractor and Client seek to optimise outcomes for themselves to the detriment of the project as a whole.

Collaborative forms of contract, as the name suggests, are contracts that have been specifically designed to promote increased collaboration based on a shared vision of success. Integrated Project Delivery is the latest form of collaborative contract that is increasingly being adopted by government departments and major client organisations in Australia and across the World as it facilitates the use of BIM, incentivises all parties to maximise project value and allows for greater engagement with the wider supply chain.

LCA can assist with contract selection, negotiation and alignment of all parties on shared vision of success.

Collaborative Planning

In recent times, project planning has become a specialist discipline requiring knowledge of complex software packages. All too often the output from these packages is quickly ignored as it is either difficult to understand or is not kept up to date with the many changes that happen on any construction project.

Collaborative planning is a back-to-basics approach to planning involving more of the project team in developing an updating a project schedule. The Last Planner System (LPS) of collaborative planning seeks to formalise the collaborative planning process. It is the only lean tool that was developed specifically for the construction industry and its name refers to the contribution to the process by the last level of supervision on site. These last planners are actively involved in the detailed planning of project milestones, ongoing monitoring of progress and rescheduling of works as required. Every week they commit to what work will be done and seek to identify issues that may prevent outcomes being achieved.

LCA can provide an interactive introduction to LPS through the fun and informative Villego LPS simulation. LCA can also assist with LPS implementation, ongoing support and can train internal LPS trainers.

Collaborative Planning

In recent times, project planning has become a specialist discipline requiring knowledge of complex software packages. All too often the output from these packages is quickly ignored as it is either difficult to understand or is not kept up to date with the many changes that happen on any construction project.

Collaborative planning is a back-to-basics approach to planning involving more of the project team in developing an updating a project schedule. The Last Planner System (LPS) of collaborative planning seeks to formalise the collaborative planning process. It is the only lean tool that was developed specifically for the construction industry and its name refers to the contribution to the process by the last level of supervision on site. These last planners are actively involved in the detailed planning of project milestones, ongoing monitoring of progress and rescheduling of works as required. Every week they commit to what work will be done and seek to identify issues that may prevent outcomes being achieved.

LCA can provide an interactive introduction to LPS through the fun and informative Villego LPS simulation. LCA can also assist with LPS implementation, ongoing support and can train internal LPS trainers.

Value Stream Mapping

Value stream mapping is a tool used to help understand and improve processes, including material and information flows within organisations. It aims at portraying a realistic picture of the process, capturing the current issues and subsequently eliminating the waste within it. This is achieved by highlighting areas of waste within a process and therefore enable businesses to eliminate these activities. Value Stream Mapping also has the benefit of categorising process activity into three main areas:

Value adding

Non value adding (but necessary) and

Waste

Through a graphical format, a diagram showing the improved process can be formulated and defined. The method encourages a team approach and participants are encouraged to suggest improvements and contribute towards and implement an action plan.

LCA can facilitate value stream mapping workshops and document outcomes for further action.

Value Stream Mapping

Value stream mapping is a tool used to help understand and improve processes, including material and information flows within organisations. It aims at portraying a realistic picture of the process, capturing the current issues and subsequently eliminating the waste within it. This is achieved by highlighting areas of waste within a process and therefore enable businesses to eliminate these activities. Value Stream Mapping also has the benefit of categorising process activity into three main areas:

Value adding

Non value adding (but necessary) and

Waste

Through a graphical format, a diagram showing the improved process can be formulated and defined. The method encourages a team approach and participants are encouraged to suggest improvements and contribute towards and implement an action plan.

LCA can facilitate value stream mapping workshops and document outcomes for further action.

Waste Minimisation

Studies have shown that approximately 70% of all the activities performed on projects add little or no value. This waste takes many forms including waiting to start an activity, unnecessary movement of people and plant and defective work. If we can learn to see waste, we have the ability to dramatically reduce this waste.

LCA can help project teams to identify waste and through tools such as Value Stream Mapping, Chrono Analysis and 5S (Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardise and sustain) reduce waste and improve productivity.

Waste Minimisation

Studies have shown that approximately 70% of all the activities performed on projects add little or no value. This waste takes many forms including waiting to start an activity, unnecessary movement of people and plant and defective work. If we can learn to see waste, we have the ability to dramatically reduce this waste.

LCA can help project teams to identify waste and through tools such as Value Stream Mapping, Chrono Analysis and 5S (Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardise and sustain) reduce waste and improve productivity.

Design / Implementation of Innovation Strategies

Innovation is important as it helps our businesses to remain competitive. It helps us build more for less and as a country, it improves our standard of living.

Innovation rarely happens by accident, it needs to be nurtured. Albert Einstein famously said that “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. In this age of disruption it could be argued that the reverse now applies and anyone repeatedly doing the same thing will soon get left behind.

LCA can help your organisation to become more innovative through the creation and implementation of targeted innovation strategies.

Design / Implementation of Innovation Strategies

Innovation is important as it helps our businesses to remain competitive. It helps us build more for less and as a country, it improves our standard of living.

Innovation rarely happens by accident, it needs to be nurtured. Albert Einstein famously said that “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. In this age of disruption it could be argued that the reverse now applies and anyone repeatedly doing the same thing will soon get left behind.

LCA can help your organisation to become more innovative through the creation and implementation of targeted innovation strategies.

Cultural Change

The two pillars of Lean Construction are continual improvement and respect for people. As an industry, and as technical people, we tend to focus on the process and the continual improvement part and not pay enough attention to the less tangible people aspect, consequently many lean initiatives fail to deliver the magnitude of improvement expected. Whilst collaborative contracts have a part to play in improving relations between the parties to a construction project there needs to be a fundamental shift in the traditional winner takes all culture prevalent in today’s construction industry in order for the benefits of lean construction to be realised.

LCA can advise and assist with implementing cultural change management programmes to build a strong enough pillar to support a successful implementation of lean construction.

Cultural Change

The two pillars of Lean Construction are continual improvement and respect for people. As an industry, and as technical people, we tend to focus on the process and the continual improvement part and not pay enough attention to the less tangible people aspect, consequently many lean initiatives fail to deliver the magnitude of improvement expected. Whilst collaborative contracts have a part to play in improving relations between the parties to a construction project there needs to be a fundamental shift in the traditional winner takes all culture prevalent in today’s construction industry in order for the benefits of lean construction to be realised.

LCA can advise and assist with implementing cultural change management programmes to build a strong enough pillar to support a successful implementation of lean construction.

Integration of Lean and Digital Engineering

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is one of the most transformative innovations to hit the construction industry in the last 100 years. With the ability to build systems and entire buildings virtually before they are permitted and mobilized in the field, it is possible to drive the risk and uncertainty down significantly on projects. Once a system is designed and coordinated in a model, it can be prefabricated and installed with higher productivity and more safely than traditional methods.

BIM innovation is also taking place in the close out and turn over process at the completion of projects with potential for major advances and significant cost savings in building management over the entire life cycle.

BIM and Lean Construction are mutually complimentary and when used together it is possible to leverage the benefits of their use.

LCA can assist with development and implementation of strategies to optimise outcomes from BIM / Lean implementation.

Integration of Lean and Digital Engineering

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is one of the most transformative innovations to hit the construction industry in the last 100 years. With the ability to build systems and entire buildings virtually before they are permitted and mobilized in the field, it is possible to drive the risk and uncertainty down significantly on projects. Once a system is designed and coordinated in a model, it can be prefabricated and installed with higher productivity and more safely than traditional methods.

BIM innovation is also taking place in the close out and turn over process at the completion of projects with potential for major advances and significant cost savings in building management over the entire life cycle.

BIM and Lean Construction are mutually complimentary and when used together it is possible to leverage the benefits of their use.

LCA can assist with development and implementation of strategies to optimise outcomes from BIM / Lean implementation.

Lean Tools

At LCA we are often asked “Is there an App for that?” in respect of the various lean construction tools and processes that we assist our Clients to deploy, many of which can appear at first look to be very basic or common sense. The fact that they appear to be basic or common sense arises from the fact that we have, in a number of areas e.g. project scheduling become over reliant on technology often with detrimental project outcomes.

LCA recommends a back to basics approach that encourages open communication between all project stakeholders. Once team members gain a solid understanding of the different tools and processes to be deployed there are software solutions that can assist with their roll out without losing any of their value.

LCA recommends:

Leansight for sharing and updating pull plans using the Last Planner system of collaborative planning.

Choosing by Advantages (CBA) allows for visual and transparent decision making. It also aligns with the desired values and culture of lean construction and allows teams to emphasise a project’s value to its stakeholders (customers and clients). With CBA, decision makers can reach consensus, focus on outcomes, and understand all of the factors considered during the decision-making process.